South Pasadena Police Promote Car Seat Safety for Children

Published on September 30, 2025

September 30, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Watch Commander

Phone: (626) 403-7265

Email: WC@southpasadenaca.gov

Subject: South Pasadena Police Promote Car Seat Safety for Children

South Pasadena, Calif. – The South Pasadena Police Department (SPPD) is joining law enforcement agencies, public health departments and other community organizations to raise awareness about the importance of keeping children in the correct car seat for their age and size.

SPPD encourages all parents and caregivers to make sure their children are riding safely by using the correct car seats, booster seats and properly fitted seat belts. This message follows Child Passenger Safety Week which took place from September 21-27.

“Every child deserves to travel safely,” Police Chief Brian Solinsky said. “We urge all parents and caregivers to know for sure that their children are in the right seats and that those seats are installed correctly. Keeping a child in the right seat for their age and size can make all the difference in a crash.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), nearly half of car seats (46%) are misused. Properly installed car seats have been shown to reduce fatal injury crashes by 71% for infants under a year old and by 54% for toddlers ages 1 through 4.

California law requires all children under 2 years old to ride in a rear-facing car seat, unless the child is 40 or more pounds or is 40 or more inches tall. Once a child reaches these milestones, all children under the age of 8 years old are still required to be secured in a car seat or booster seat, in the back seat. Children ages 8 and older, or who are at least 4 feet 9 inches tall, may be secured by a booster seat, but at a minimum must be secured by a safety belt.

Parents and caregivers are encouraged to keep children in the proper rear or forward-facing seat as long as possible and use the “Five-Step Test” to determine if their child is big enough to safely use a seat belt without a booster seat.

To schedule a free child safety seat inspection, contact your local CHP Area Office.

Visit www.gosafelyca.org for more traffic safety information.

Funding for this program is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

For more information about the City of South Pasadena, visit www.southpasadenaca.gov. Follow us on social media to keep up with the latest news: Facebook, X, Instagram, and YouTube.

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